The Women behind the podcast: Chris’s perspective
Written by Christine Raine
I had seen Nandi at the “Feria Verde” in Aranjuez, an José, many times. A place of gathering, this “organic vegetable fair” is a colorful collective of fruit stands, artisanal products, jewelry, healing knick-knacks of all sorts, and food stands. On any given Saturday morning, showing up with a cloth bag and willing to stop in your tracks every two minutes to say hello to someone you ran into, it’s a great way to start your weekend.
I remember the day she walked up to me in a different way. With determination, she simply looked me in the eye and said: “I think the work you are doing is necessary and important (she was referring to Non Violent Communication (NVC) and I want to be involved”. I’ve always admire people that have that kind of clarity and the audacity to state it in simple terms. After that, she was a participant in my first immersive 3-month program, then joined the facilitation team and made her way into my heart. There was so much more substance than what I had seen in her at first: a pretty hippie. She shows herself to the world with an aligned spine, heart first. She has love for everyone. Her words are always kind. She gives people the benefit of the doubt. She is creative and an incredible contact dancer. And she is the best listener. Even though our working styles are so different, we have always worked together with so much ease. Trust, transparency, and openness characterize the ways in which we collaborate together to put beautiful things out into the world. Probably, that's why I asked her to help me organize my wedding, a festival/like party that included circus artists, musicians, and friends and family from over 15 countries.
Later, when Wondermore was born, she would naturally fit into it as a co-facilitator role in the “women-only” trips that turned out to be a powerful vortex of depth, lightness, joy, and life-lasting friendships. What truly cemented our friendship was the way she showed up for my healing journey from cancer. Need some laughter? Let's play “What do you Meme” and even if for a few hours, hysterically laugh our pain away. Need company? Spontaneous visits galore with 100% presence. Don't wanna talk? Here’s a squash soup, I’m here if you need me… bye.
I met Sarah when I was coming from my most vulnerable, and awakening to my most powerful. As soon as I opened up the blue door of our 3-star Greek hotel with killer views of the ocean, and saw that smile and curly bun at the top of her head, I felt complicity. I got there at 9 p.m. and we talked until 2 a.m. on day 1. The similarities in our process of growth and evolution were uncanny. We had to make ourselves go to bed because we had a big day the next day: it was the beginning of our 10-day greek retreat! As we explored the extraordinary cliffs, back roads, beaches, and beachfront rustic restaurants in Patmos, I witnessed her brilliant mind, her embodied way of moving through life, her generous, natural hosting nature… always wanting people to feel included, always caring for the whole. Our chemistry was immediate and ever-growing. Other participants thought we were friends that had come together, no one could believe we had just met. It was indeed a magical encounter. And so, the witnessing of signs continued, and the trust for life inside of me deepened.
When I was pondering about how to embody the divine feminine, collaboration felt natural, and Nandi and Sarah kept popping into my mind. Under my new “effortless impact” mantra and the reconnection with my intuitive wisdom, I made the invitation with no expectations and let things unravel. Initial resonance and enthusiasm turned to busyness and moments of circumstantial disconnection, but the impulse to share this journey of exploration only got clearer inside of me.
After sharing about it in workshop format both at the Happy Startup Summercamp in Brighton and ConversABLE’s comeback retreat after taking a two year pause, the resonance and impact it had on both women and men, was a crystal clear reality. It was a deliverer of “Aha moments”, and I live for those.
When I suggested to Sarah that she join me for my third year in a row “self-care January”, we knew creating a time where the three of us could be together would be magic. The container would be: The Wonderbus, an upcycled school bus turned into a tiny home in the jungle… Nosara our playground. Sunset, drums circles on the beach, making and sharing nurturing food, conversations about self, development, connection, disembodiment, embodiment, distorted sexuality, love, expectations… and each of our take’s on THJ were the nurturing force underlying our time together. It's incredible what can happen when we engage in creative endeavors with fluidity, openness, and an attitude of detachment. The creations of my life that I feel most proud of all started this way. It was when my desire to control, and identification with productivity got in the way, that things started to take a left turn. But that's another story.
We took long walks on the beach, watched sunsets in awe, and expressed our concerns about high-speed development, construction, and noise. We swam in the ocean like mermaids, danced, and listened to music. We slept in the same space together and had morning coffee in bed. We became life companions before becoming work companions.
We drew, we talked, we looked at Joseph Campbell’s model and Victoria Schmits’s model. We re-read parts of Maureen Murdoch’s book, and we noticed questions that remain unanswered. We vowed to be loyal to those questions.
We officially embarked on the journey together. And we are so happy to “work out loud” and share our process in this space so that you too, can join hands with us as we take a leap into the deep end. Welcome to this exploration of The Heroine’s Journey.
This is a questions that I’m holding loosely but close to my heart as I embark upon this first season:
How can we move beyond the duality of what we have typically associated with “feminine” and “masculine” energies, so that we can put language in service of unity & integration… even if we still don't experience this as a society?
